ON THE HISTORY OF U.S.-U.N. RELATIONS Li Shaojun（69） This article reviews the evolution of the relationship between the United States and the United Nations. It argues that the founding of the U.N. marked the completion of the U.S. transition from isolationism to globalism and the beginning of its heading for hegemonism worldwide. In the past 50 years, the U.S. has undergone a transition from idealism to realism in the U.N. and thus has been placed in a dilemma in which the relations with this global organization can be neither too close nor too detached. The end of the Cold War has rendered the United States new choices. Circumscribed by various conditions, it will not make greater commitment to the United Nations. Nevertheless, the status quo of their relations will probably be maintained in the foreseeable future.